Apr 07, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan unit of international ship supply firm GAC plans to expand its business with the acquisition of more craft, a senior official said. “We plan to invest on another two supply boats,” said Walter Rodrigo, director of GAC Shipping, which has a service from the southern port of Galle to supply ships passing the island on the main East-West shipping route.

The firm now has six supply boats and one tug to provide a range of services including crew changes, medical evacuation and supplying spare parts and provisions to ships while underway.

The service from Galle helps ships avoid the delays and extra costs involved in calling at ports and saves time and money, Rodrigo said.

“From Galle we’re doing about 30-35 ships a month. It is a good location for ship services like crew changes, medical evacuation and spares supply.”

The business saw a downturn in the last 12-18 months because recession reduced trade and shipping movements but has begun to pick up again, Rodrigo said.

Business would also grow as economic activity picks up with the island recovering from the effects of a 30-year ethnic war that ended in May 2009.

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